Dead of the Night
by Kipcha
Summary: "Let me get this straight. You come to my room in the middle of the night, crawl into my bed, ask if you can sleep with me... And I'm the perverted one?"
1. The Night

_I do not own Gakuen Alice_

* * *

"...Eh?"

Hotaru rolled her eyes, sighing in annoyance but attempting to keep her temper in check. At times, she could say that she was rather fond of Mikan and enjoyed having her around. Mikan was everything you could ask for in a best friend and more. However, it was times such as these when her sheer idiocy came shining through like a beacon that made her regret her closeness with the girl. No doubt she would blow this entire matter completely out of proportion and make an enormous production about it as she always did when it came to things like these. She had been concerned about the immediate reaction she would recieve upon delivering this news to the girl, but it seemed that her wariness had been in vain. The fool was too dim to even comprehend what she had said.

"I said, I'm going to an invention convention. Narumi-sensei recieved the persmission to bring me beyond the academy walls if it was for the positive outlook of the school. Both he and I will be gone for a week."

"...Eh?"

Hotaru remained silent this time, staring blankly at her friend as a tirade of emotion flashed across her face at a rapid pace. Confusion, dawning understanding, anger, frustration before finally settling on sorrow. Tears immediately pooled in her eyes and she dove forward wrapping her arms around her neck, sobbing into Hotaru's dark academy uniform.

"Hotaru! You can't possibly be leaving now!" She bawled loudly. However, her antics failed to gain any kind of reaction from the students around her. Mikan's dramatic reactions were common nowadays and no one batted an eye to her tears and her wailing. Hotaru gazed down in disgust, her nose wrinkiling at the thought of her lovely pristine uniform being soaked with snot and tears. This was going to cost Mikan.

Hotaru got a hold of Mikan's shoulders and pushed her a full arms length away as Mikan continued her tantrum. "If you do not stop crying now, I won't come back."

That managed to shut the brunette up quickly. She sniffed awkwardly, wiping the tears from her eyes and taking some deep, shuddering breaths.

"W-When are you leaving?" She sniffled pathetically, giving her friend a kicked puppy look. Although she would never admit it, Hotaru felt an inkling of guilt. Leave it to the kicked puppy routine to make her feel like scum for doing the kicking.

"In an hour."

Mikan froze. "WHAT?"

Hotaru covered her ears in annoyance, glaring at Mikan. "Was that really necessary?"

"Just what I was thinking."

Mikan wheeled around to glare at Natsume, who, much to Mikan's dissapointment, was completely unaffected by her blazing dissaproval. Ruka looked at her in concern, petting his rabbit who seemed more intimidated by the girls rage then the one it was aimed to.

"Hotaru's leaving for a week! How can I not panic!" Mikan, burst, waving her arms in the air in hope of getting her point across. "She could have at least told me!"

Natsume rolled his eyes. "Do you ever read, Polka-Dots? It was in the school newsletter."

Mikan blinked a few times in rapid succession. "Eh?"

"It's true, Sakura-san." Ruka said. Mikan wilted slightly. Natsume was someone she would doubt if his words could be used to make her look like a fool. He loved teasing her for some unknown reason, after all. He had told her plenty of things that weren't true in the past and loved rubbing her nose in her mistakes. But Ruka-pyon was much less likely to lie to her.

Ruka seemed to take pity. "It's alright, I usually just scan through it as well."

This did not console the girl. She remained silent. Behind her, Hotaru sighed. "You do usually at least look through it... Right?"

It seemed that a dark cloud descended over Mikan's head. "I didn't even know there was a school newletter."

There was a moment of silence, as if mourning Mikan's lack of awareness to what was going on around her. Hotaru and Ruka sighed in unison as Natsume delivered a hot "Idiot."

In an attempt to redeem herself, Mikan perked up and immediately placed a large grin on her face, not noticing the discomfort of those around her at her rapid and slightly unhealthy change of mood. Perhaps this was not the way to get her friend to come back earlier to her. No, she had to be supportive! If she sent Hotaru off with a smile, perhaps she would even cut her trip short and return to her, swift as could be! Fool-proof!

She span around, smiling from ear to ear and hoping it didn't look too forced. "Well, Hotaru, this could be an amazing oppurtunity for you! I'll bet you'll have a lot of fun. Especially since you will get off school grounds, it seems like we've been cooped up in here forever!"

Hotaru raised an eyebrow in confusion and she wasn't the only one. However, she decided to roll with the sudden merry attitude that had taken over her best friend, having adjusted to these mood swings long ago. "Yes, it is a good oppurtunity. I plan on selling some of my previous inventions, I need some pocket change."

"Of course!" Mikan laughed. She was cut off, however, by Narumi.

"Imai-san, we need to get ready, the taxi is going to leave without us!" When realising whom she was with Narumi smiled at Mikan brightly. "Mikan-chan, I'm guessing Hotaru told you. I'll be sure to bring you back a special treat!"

"...Eh? Narumi-sensei?"

Narumi looked at Hotaru reaproachfully. "You did tell her, right?"

Hotaru nodded as understanding dawned on Mikan. Narumi-sensei was going too!

"EH!" The entire group looked at her in something akin to sympathy for the poor girl except for Natsume and Hotaru who just delivered her a blank stare.

Mikan immediately calmed herself down although she suddenly felt even worse then she did before. An entire week without Narumi-sensei or Hotaru? How lonely!

"O-oh, Hotaru told me Sensei. I guess I just didn't really realise." She scratched the back of her head in embarressment, fighting down the raging sorrow inside her. "I guess... I'll see you in a week, right?"

Narumi swooped down, picking up Mikan by the waist and grinning at her. "We will, Mikan-chan, so don't worry, okay?"

Mikan nodded, smiling, as she was released. Much to her surprise, Hotaru wrapped her in a quick hug. She ended it as swiftly as she started it, leaving Mikan in a mixture of bafflement, bliss and loneliness. Giving her one last look, Hotaru turned and left without another word with Narumi following faithfully at her heels.

Mikan allowed her head to droop and much to her dismay, she felt tears beginning to flood her vision once more. Although she knew a week wasn't altogether that long, she couldn't help the chill of abondement that swept through her. Why did she wait until now to properly tell her...?

Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted when she felt a sudden breeze by her skirt. Immediately, the chill morphed into white hot fury when she realised what had occured. Ruka averted his gaze quickly, a hot blush covering his face while Natsume's expression remained vacant and uncaring.

"Left yourself wide open, Striped-Panties."

She felt herself begin to shudder, her eyes narrowing. "NAT-SU-ME!"

He ignored her completely as he began his way through the polished school halls, ignoring the shrieks of feminine fury and the quiet scolding he was recieving from Ruka. Part of him felt relief. This was a situation he was well adjusted to, something familiar. That girl shaking her fist at him and threatening him all sorts of pain that he knew she would never truly follow through on for flipping her skirt. After all, he had heard the lecture on how she could never get married Lord only knew how many times now. He could almost recite it himself.

He could handle her when she was angry or bubbly or just being an idiot. It was when her shoulders fell, her expression crumpled and he could tell that she was actually trying to keep herself from crying that irked him. That melancholy Mikan was what never failed in making him feel useless.

* * *

Mikan awoke in cold sweat, tears already pouring rather heavily down her face as she pulled the blankets up to cover her head. She gulped in air hungrily and could easily hear the sound of her own heart pounding frantically in her chest as she willed it to slow. Part of her felt silly, knowing that this dream could really do nothing to her and that it was the same every time. She had been having it for quite a while now and it never failed to leave her shaking like a leaf, soaked in fear and sadness. She remembered the pain that seemed to course through her body, how there was no one there to help her, everyone she cared about in her life gone. No Hotaru, no Narumi-sensei, no Ruka and definitely no Natsume. She shivered, pulling herself into a ball. It had managed to progress further then it ever had tonight.

She remembered the first night she had had the dream, how frightened she had been that she had gone to Hotaru's room. Normally, she would have been turned away from the room without a seconds hesitation but that night, Hotaru had actually been concerned when she found Mikan outside her door and allowed her to sleep at her side. Part of Mikan wanted nothing more then to feel that warmth and comfort of another as she slept, safe and protected from the nightmares that plagued her sleep.

It was then that she remembered that Hotaru was God only knows where. Her second option would have been Narumi-sensei but with a sniffle, she recalled that he, too, was not in the Academy that night.

Sleeping by herself was not an option right now. She was terrified of the horrible things she had witnessed in the dream, the things she did not want to feel. Alone, cold and and in so much pain...

She squeaked when the wind whipped across her window, shaking it. She pulled herself further under the covers, running through possible cantidates in her mind.

Ruka was a possibility but part of her rejected the idea entirely. She trusted Ruka and did find his presence comforting but there was something in her relationship with him that made a girl even as dense as she realise that there was something there preventing that much intimacy. Her next thought was Tsubasa-senpai but he was all the way on the other side of campus. That was a long way to walk, she reasoned, alone and in this state of mind. All other teachers were a big no as well. She may have been close with Narumi-sensei, but not nearly close enough with the others to even consider such a thing. She continued to tick off friends in her mental list, telling herself out of each and every one.

She shuddered again as her window creaked. She needed someone...

Really, there was only one other person she could think of to turn to. She was sure he would call her an idiot for this and that he may even turn her away. She thought of the possibility of rejection and closed her eyes tightly, realising that that may be worse then recieving no comfort at all. She ran through her list of friends once more and was met with the same conclusion. He was the best cantidate. After all, whenever she was in trouble or needed help, he was one of the few that she could really turn to and trust.

Grabbing her blanket, she stood and wrapped it around her like a cloak, protecting herself from the cold and fear that lay just outside of her barrier. She tiptoed to her door and grabbed the knob, twisting it and pulling. She winced as the door gave a load groan of protest. Part of her insisted that she drop this foolishness and go back to bed that instant. The less rational part of her remembered the agitation that continued to turn her stomach still. She trembled timidly and stepped out into the hall, closing her door with a hushed snap.

It seemed to take forever to reach the enormous door that housed her possible savior. Part of her almost hoped for a teacher to catch her sneaking around in the corridors but her hopes were not met as she did not meet a single person on her long trek. Now she was here and there was no turning back.

She gathered her courage, closing her eyes and mustering herself together. She clenched her hand into a fist and raised her hand an inch from the wood, willing herself to rap it. Her determination left her for a moment and she shuffled awkwardly, lowering her hand and almost turning back the way she came. She was just being stupid, it was only a dream. It wasn't like it could really hurt her.

But the larger part of her told her that even if it could not physically hurt her, it could still terrify her when she was most defenseless.

She wheeled around again and before she lost her newfound boldness, rapped the door three times. She waited tensly, not hearing shuffling of feet or the ruffle of sheets being moved. It was silent.

She released a shaky giggle, chiding herself for being so silly. He must be asleep so she really shouldn't bother him.

Tensing, she turned and began to walk away when a voice came from the other side of the door. "Who is it?" She was surprised at how sharp and crisp his tone was. He could not have just been asleep. Not to sound that alert.

She wanted to answer but the nervous lump in her throat prevented any sound. She obviously did not answer quickly enough because his words were now filled with animosity.

"Tonight is a night to myself, even you agreed to that." Mikan felt the color drain from her face, her feet turning cold. She almost had no idea what he was actually saying but it was his voice, so full of malice, that pierced her. This was not the Natsume she knew. This was a stranger and a dangerous, frightening one at that.

"S-Sorry." She apologised rather loudly and she bowed, not realising that the one she was apologising to could not see her through the door. "I... I shouldn't have come, I know but..."

The door opened almost immediately and she snapped up straight, her eyes wide as they tried to adjust to the darkness. He was there alright, in a simple pair of black pajamas. She was rather surprised with his choice of sleepwear. He had always seemed to grown up and so mature that she had never considered him looking or acting his own age.

She shook her head sharply when she realised she was getting off track. This had been such a stupid idea, why did she always get herself into these situations? Perhaps if she left now, she could protect the single shred of dignity she had left.

"Polka-Dots?" Had it been another situation, she would have giggled. He sounded so baffled, so different then he had not just a few seconds ago. "What the... What the Hell are you doing here?"

She looked determindly at his neck and she hoped he didn't notice she couldn't look him in the eye. This was so embarressing... "Umm... Nothing. I think I'm going to go to bed now. Goodnight."

She turned to shuffle away, but was met with cool night air and shock when her security blanket left her body, exposing her to the dark. She shivered and gave a small squeak, turning to realise that Natsume's foot was firmly planted on the corner and he didn't seem willing to let it go. He raised an eyebrow, obviously expecting an explanation. She knew she wasn't going to be allowed to leave without one since his eyes clearly got his message across. She had gotten that look before many times, after all. The famous '_You're going to tell me what I want, right now whether you like it or not'_ look.

She looked at her feet now, muttering unintelligibly about getting lost as she backed away slowly, but not going too far. She wasn't leaving here without her blanket but she couldn't think of a good excuse to substitute for the real reason she came to his door so late at night.

Natsume seemed to be getting frustrated now. "Polka-Dots, what are you doing here. I think I deserve an answer."

She finally met his eye full on and with a shock, realised that there was amusement there. Amusement! Did he find this funny? To have her squirming like this, she supposed it would have been funny had the roles been reversed but... She was embarresed as Hell, dammit! He should not have been having this much fun.

She scoffed, crossing her arms. "I... Went looking for... Something." She said lamely and she nearly smacked herself in the forehead. Really? That was the best she could do?

"Looking for something." He replied flatly, raising an eyebrow. He shook his head, releasing her bed sheet. "Well, whatever the Hell you were doing, you obviously don't want me to know so just don't come knocking at my door, Polka."

He was just about to close the door when Mikan stopped him, holding it open with her foot. She looked down, obviously as surprised as he was and pulled it back as if he had burned it. She giggled nervously.

"You... Don't want to talk... Or anything?"

His eyebrow raised again. What the Hell was wrong with her tonight? Either way, he hid a grin. This girl was just far too easy to manipulate. Pretend you don't give a damn and she would spill her guts.

"Just go back to your room and go to bed Polka."

"I can't."

Once again, she seemed unaware of saying the words before they were out of her mouth and she clamped her hand firmly over her traitorous talker. She giggled again, turning around with exaggeration and raising her hand over her shoulder and waving to him half-heartedly.

He watched her march down the hall, dragging her blanket. She seemed unaware that he was still watching and her steps slowed. She stopped and turned to look back at his door. When she realised he was still there, he could see the blush raise to her cheeks even in the dark. She turned again and continued to march, obviously having no real destination in mind.

Natsume sighed, following suit. "Oi, Polka."

Mikan stopped and looked over her shoulder. "What?"

Her breath left her as she was pushed against the wall, caged by Natsume's arms on either side of her. She gulped loudly when she realised how dangerously close he was, his crimson eyes burning in the night. He had been this close once before...

Her gaze fell slowly to his lips and she swallowed again. Oh, this was not good.

He seemed unaware of her slightly less then innocent thoughts. "Why did you come here?"

She remained silent, her blush darkening again as she dropped her gaze. He stood patiently, waiting for an answer.

"I had a... Dream."

He looked at her incredolously. Sure, she was pretty out there, but surely she normally dreamed? He continued his wait for a proper explanation.

It took her a moment or two but she continued slowly.

"I was... All alone. It was dark. I remember that before then, I had had people around me. Everyone was happy and laughing and then they were just... gone. These figures came forward, like shadows and they started to do something. I looked down and I was cut, everywhere. Everything hurt and I called out and I saw the people I was with before but they looked like they didn't know me. They left me without hesitation. Not even a second glance, they left me."

Mikan shivered, tears beginning to flow down her cheeks even though she wasn't really aware of it. "It hurt a lot but I don't think the pain was what was so scary. There was no one left, I was all by myself..."

"It's silly, I know it is. But... What if there's something wrong with me Natsume? What if I made my parents leave me behind? Surely it isn't normal for parents just to leave their child with their grandfather and go off on their own? Half the time, people don't even seem to like me either. Just sort of... Tolerate my presence because they have to. Narumi-sensei is a teacher so he has to be nice and Hotaru seems to be able to barely put up with me half the time. I'm always getting you and Ruka-pyon in trouble..."

"You're an idiot."

Her sobs, which had been escalating and getting slightly louder as time passed, stopped abruptly as her eyes narrowed angrily. She met his gaze evenly, furious. Here she was telling him her deepest fears and that's what he had to say?

"I am not!"

"You are."

Mikan humphed, crouching to get out from under his arms but failing as he crouched with her lowering his arms and blocking her escape quite effectively. She growled in anger and met his eyes again. "If I'm such an idiot then just let me go-"

She was silenced by the feeling of his lips on hers. It was quick and chaste, but it was enough to silence her. He pulled away, his eyes completely calm and collected compared to the frenzy that was toiling inside her. How could he be so mellow in a situation like this? He just kissed her! Again! Without her permission! Again!

She attempted to speak, working past her tounge tied state. "Y-you... Pervert... Jerk..."

"You're an idiot." Snapped Natsume, interrupting her. "There's nothing wrong with you." He paused for a moment, contemplating his words. "Other then your stupidity, of course. But that isn't enough to make everyone hate you."

Mikan folded her arms, staring at him crossly. "I think I'm safer going back to my own bed now. Perverts are scary people."

He rolled his eyes. "It was just to shut you up, Polka."

She glared at him suspiciously. She seemed to quickly make up her mind. "No, I think I'm safer in my own bed rather then yours."

For the third time that night, his eyebrows dissapeared into his messy black hair, the only part of him that gave away his surprise. "Mine?"

She was silent for a moment before her mind finally caught up with her mouth. Mikan gasped, backtracked quickly to remember what she said and quickly realised she had completely revealed her true intentions. She attempted to find a way out of it but there really was no turning back now. She had gone and blown it, so she may as well just explain to him and not let him get the wrong idea.

"I originally came here to sleep in the same bed with you." She twiddled her thumbs nervously, now staring at the floor. She cursed herself for lacking the confidence to just say it out right. Getting embarresed and avoiding his face was definitely not the way to ensure he didn't get the wrong idea. This was all her own fault, she had no one to blame but herself. "Not do anything perverted but... Last time I had this nightmare I went to Hotaru's room and when I'm with someone, I don't have the dream anymore. But Hotaru is gone... And when I woke up I was really scared so I came to the next person I could think of..."

She shot him a second long glance and was humiliated to see that his expression was entirely blank. She broke off her sentence nervously, waiting for the rejection and to head back to her room. Part of her hoped he would at least walk her there, it had taken every ounce of courage she had to get to here on her own.

When she was met with an extremely long silent, she grew frustrated. "You could just say no so I could go back now. When we wake up, we'll pretend this all never happened, okay?"

Natsume shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't care."

Mikan huffed. "Alright, see- Wait, what?"

He looked at his open door. "I said, I don't care. Do what you want."

She glared at him suspiciously as he looked at her again, which he found completely untimidating. Mikan probed for any kind of joke being played on her, perhaps a hidden motive and was baffled when she found none.

"You heard that I said nothing perverted, right?"

He glared at her harshly. "Are you going to your own room or coming with me, Polka? Because some of us actually work during the day and I want to sleep sometime tonight."

"You weren't asleep when I got here." She evaded coolly, her amber eyes narrowed in amusement. "Maybe you were already doing something perverted."

"Like what, exactly?"

She shrugged. "I have no clue. I'm not a pervert, I don't know what perverts do at night in their room where no ones looking."

Natsume rolled his eyes. "Make a decision, Polka, I'm going to bed."

Without another word, Natsume stood and did just that. He headed into his room and waited a moment, listening now. When there was no sound he started closing the door. He supposed that her lack of reaction meant a silent decision to go back to her room. Whatever, it didn't matter to him at all. She could do whatever she wanted.

"Ow!"

He paused for a second before turning around again. He pulled open the door to reveal Mikan rubbing her nose, glaring at him. "I knew you would do something like that. I really should have known better."

He stared at her. "You didn't say anything, I assumed you went back to your room."

Mikan scoffed, attempting to cover her embarressment. "I followed you, I thought it was clear what my decision was."

Natsume stepped aside and Mikan strolled in smoothly, hoping she looked more confident then she was. She gazed around her in wonder, realising now just how much nicer Natsume's was compared to hers. His bed was definitely nicer!

She raced forward and leapt into the air before landing clumsily on the soft mattress. She laughed excitedly, fluffing the pillow with enthusiasm and enjoying the feel of the soft sheet on her skin. Her night shirt left her arms pretty much bare and she relished how smoothly the blankets flowed over her skin, her own blanket now forgotten on the floor outside in the hallway.

"Wow Natsume, I don't know how you can be so grumpy when you have a bed like this!" She gushed happily, only to realise the look of bemusement on his face. She immediately sobered, grabbing one of the pillows closest to her and fluffing it primly, pulling the sheets over her and laying down comfortably, adjusting and finally finding a groove that was comfortable. Normally she would have been drowsy immediately with such lovely accomadations but she found herself acutely aware of Natsume's movements. When she heard him lie down but not on the bed, she looked up in confusion to see him on one of the couches. She suddenly felt uncomfortable, realising that she was pushing him out of his own bed.

She shoved the sheets off and walked over to him quietly. "Natsume?"

"Hnng." Was the reply she recieved, but he still opened one eye to acknowledge her presence.

She toyed with the hem of her nightshirt. "When I said sleeping with you, I meant it literally... Not in a perverted way! But, umm... I can go to the couch if you're uncomfortable..."

He snorted, closing his eye once more. "Figured you'd sleep better without fear of me molesting you in your sleep."

Mikan tipped her head to the side in confusion. "Molesting?"

Natsume opened both his eyes this time, gouging to see if she was joking or not. When he came to the swift conclusion that she wasn't, he rolled his eyes. "Nevermind."

She considered pushing for a definition of the new word but decided against it, feeling uncomfortable once again. "You can sleep in the bed with me... If you want..."

He looked at her sharply now, as if calculating something. He seemed to reach a conclusion and sat up, moving over to the bed and pulling the sheets back. He got in under them and propped the crook of his arm under his face as a pillow. Once he was comfortable, he gave her a probing glance, as if challenging her to see if she was serious.

Not one to back down from a challenge, she remained silent as she crawled in next to him. Back to back, each was extremely aware of the others presence but neither caring to say so out loud. Natsume had to admit, he was utterly shocked. Not only was she the one laying in bed with him right now, but she was the one who instigated the entire thing. Memories of the sticky ball ploy came back to him and how she had protested when they had gotten in bed together then. This time, she had actually asked for it. When he realised it was her who stood outside his door, he couldn't help but feel the tiniest jump of pleasure inside of him, something he hadn't felt in quite some time. It was definitely something that he would carry to his grave.

She seemed to fall asleep extremely quickly and it wasn't long before her breathing became even and rythmic. His eyes closed as he listened to her, her presence causing him to relax. It seemed like hours had passed when suddenly there was a hitch in the rythum and his eyes opened once again. He turned over when he heard her whimper slightly and much to his surprise, a tear raced down her cheeck from a closed lid, her face set in a frown.

Unsure, he turned all the way over and pushed her now loose hair from her face. A blush, barely visible, lit his face ever so slightly when she leaned into his touch.

She seemed to calm and mellow once more. Thinking it was a potential crisis averted, he moved to turn over to his side of the bed again.

"Don't leave me alone..." She whispered when he removed his hand and he froze, debating.

Making a quick decision, he slowly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "It's alright Mikan." He whispered. Strange, the situation seemed extremely familiar only this time, the roles were reversed. "I won't leave you. I promise."

She snuggled into him and he stiffened slightly as she sighed rather happily. "Natsume..."

When he was sure that she was alright again, he finally began to feel drowsy and his eyelids began to droop. Both of them fell into a blissful sleep.

* * *

Hotaru glanced around Mikan's room, irritated. She came back early from her trip and an empty room was the welcoming she recieved. Ungrateful child. It was 4 in the morning, where on Earth could that space case have wandered off to?

Her first thought had been sleep walking or perhaps even a quick bathroom run. However, the missing blanket off her bed suggested otherwise. Wherever she had gone, she had not planned on coming back for a while.

Deciding the next possible place, Hotaru made her way back to her own room. There was a high possibility she may have gone there out of confusion of just waking up. Part of her cringed at imagining the brunette curled up in her expensive sheets and drooling on her goose down pillow. Mikan constantly complained about not having money but she was also constantly having to replace things that belonged to Hotaru because she ruined them. It was an endless cycle, one Hotaru wished Mikan would break.

Imagine her surprise when she found Mikan's blanket strewn in the middle of the hallways in front of the infamous door of Natsume Hyuuga.

Her violet eyes narrowed as she placed her deer hoof on her hand, not entirely sure as to why her friend would be here of all places. She moved towards the door handle, turning it slowly and finding it unlocked. Of course it would be, Hyuuga was one of the few people in the Academy who had little to fear with his fierce Alice. She found herself wondering about the possibility of Mikan coming here on her own and almost immediately dismissed those thoughts. After all, that idiot was far too innocent for those kinds of ventures yet.

Honestly, she left for a few days and disaster followed.

* * *

Mikan stirred in annoyance, something not feeling particularily right. She grunted at an unfamiliar pressure on the top of her arm, shoving it slightly downwards to fall around her waist. She sighed, glad that she had relieved herself of the weight that did not feel particularily uncomfortable on her waist. She curled her toes to realise that they had found their way out from under the bed sheet and swiftly pulled them back under. She growled. They felt cold as ice.

However, a pleasant warmth was provided right beside her. Grinning at her good fortune, she snuggled up to it. Perhaps Hotaru had a new invention? Surely if there were electric blankets, a giant heat pillow wasn't out of the realm of possibility? She thanked her friend silently and brought her feet up to it. Her grin widened as a pleasant warmth began to bring them back to life.

She pulled herself flush with the pillow, wrapping her arms firmly around its middle and burying her face into it. Wow, it really smelt nice to...

Wait... It had a heart beat?

She froze, stiffening as, ever so slowly, she opened her eyes and raised her gaze upwards.

That face was unmistakeable.

The memory of the previous night came rushing back to her in a flash and she quickly released him, scooting away as swiftly as possible and nearly falling out of bed in the process. Her heart pounded as blood rushed to her face, her eyes wide as she observed his sleeping expression. She remained perfectly still and, for once, silent as she considered what to do. The glow of the sunrise was breaking over the horizon but had not yet actually peeked over the ridge so she supposed it was still pretty early in the morning. If she were to sneak back to her room now, she could probably do so without being seen.

Natsume, with his eyes still firmly shut, seemed to have different ideas about where she was going though. Frustrated with the lack of heat that had once been there he reached out, his hand finding Mikan's arm and pulling her forward. Mikan let out a squeak and tumbled basically on top of him rather unceremoniously. Content, Natsume relaxed once more and continued his slumber, his arm now firmly holding her in place by her waist.

Mikan gulped, breathing heavily as her blush grew darker. She attempted to squirm out of his grip only for it to tighten once more and she sighed, going limp. When she did so, the arms loosened to a comfortable pressure. Part of her considered merely staying put, but the other part of her firmly reminded her that he might not be so snuggly when he actually woke up. Then again, maybe he would, who knows? Perhaps all this kid needed was a hug.

The rational part of her told her that she was being an idiot. She noted that her rational parts voice sounded strangely like Natsume's.

This did not help the situation one bit.

She looked at his face in frustration, blowing a stray strand of hair away from her mouth. She was stuck in the predicament and he continued to sleep it away, not a care in the world.

Out of a moment of pure spite, she blew softly on his face, half heartedly hoping to rouse him from his slumber. His forehead wrinkled and he grumbled, brushing the bothersome air away. An evil grin lit Mikan's face and she did it once more, reaching the same result.

She fought to keep her chuckles down as she michievously grabbed a small portion of her hair and dangled it over the bridge of his nose and moving it lightly across his eyelids. This time, the hand swatting was a little more forceful, pushing her hand away from his face. Mikan huffed. As usual, he was ruining her fun.

This time, she took her finger and began to trace the lines of his face. He looked so much younger like this, she noted. No responsibilities to protect his friends and family, no pain and no suffering at the hands of others. He looked so content. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if he would ever be able to look like this when he was awake.

Poor guy, she thought to herself. He's been through so much. She really wished she could help...

It was on a complete passing whim, she would swear later. She didn't know exactly what took her over right then and there. Perhaps she was possessed. Perhaps she went momentarily insane. Either way, she had no idea what compelled her to kiss him. It was quick and fleeting, but she did. She was sure of that.

Just as sure as she was when a flash of light illuminated the room for a moment along with the sound of film capturing a kodak moment. Mikan lifted her face, frozen in shock, to turn and face the amused eyes of her best friend... Or perhaps ex best friend. That would depend on if Hotaru was going to give her that film right now or not.

Her mouth attempted to work but all that was leaving her were untelligible sounds. Everything went crashing down.

She had done something she shouldn't of and she had gotten caught.

She looked back down and saw the one thing that could have made the entire situation worse. She could tell that he were still half asleep and not entirely awake yet as he attempted to focus on her face, which must have been hard considering how close she was.

"Mikan?"

She was paralyzed momentarily. Alright, with that right there, she was sure that she could not possibly be awake. She reached her arm around and pinched it rather harshly. She yelped when the pain coursed through her skin.

Dang it, she was most definitely awake.

Hotaru remained silent, clicking on the camera at a rapid pace. Mikan's mouth moved like a fish out of water until she finally found her voice. "H-Hotaru! Stop it! What do you think you're doi-"

"Quiet." She was once again pulled again Natsume and she could almost hear the evil cackles and the sound of change tinkling as Hotaru continued her photo tirade, merciless of her best friends pleas.

"HOTARU!" Mikan now grabbed Natsume's arm, desperatly trying to push him off now. "Natsume, let go! I have to stop her! Wake up, idiot!"

It took a moment but she saw his eyes open once more, this time a tad more awake and a rather lot more grumpy at his sleep being interrupted. He looked at Mikan for a moment, frustrated and debating a choice number of colorful words before his attention being drawn now to the clicking and bright lights that illuminated the room. She watched as his eyes narrowed as he looked at Hotaru and then his gaze wandered down to his arm that was firmly placed on her waist, holding her in place. Finally, he ended his observation by looking at her face again. After a few seconds, he released her.

That was all it took for Mikan to dive out of the bed, making a desperate attempt to steal the camera that would destroy her innocence and dignity in one fell swoop.

"HOTARU! Get back here."

Her friend merely held the camera up, her eyes dancing mercilessly and she hopped on her flying scooter that she had summoned when she began her blackmail gathering. Not even bothering to take the time to put her helmet on like she usually did, she flew off. Gone from sight, the door slamming shut being the only sign that she had even been there.

Mikan collapsed on the ground, whimpering. "Oh no, if people see that... I'll be dead! Dead I tell you!" Her eyes narrowed hatefully as she glared at Natsume who was now propped up on his elbows and in no hurry to move from his comfortable position. "And it's all your fault."

"I wanted to sleep on the couch, if I remember correctly." He snapped coolly, now stretching and wondering how he managed to get a headache so quickly after such a good nights sleep. "You asked for me to sleep with you. You even came all the way here." His expression turned sharp. "I thought Imai was gone, anyways. That's why you came here. Along with the gay pervert teacher."

Mikan huffed, crossing her arms while still managing to keep her chin on the cold ground. "She was gone, I guess she got back this morning. Those pictures are going to ruin me, what will I do? Permy is going to kill me." She threw her arms outward dramatically and flapped them, her mind in an utter state of panic mode. Natsume fought to keep a straight face. She looked like some kind of physically disabled bird, flapping around on the ground like that. "She's going to kill me Natsume! And it's all your fault!"

"I thought we already established that this was your doing, Polka." He replied crisply, not moving to push the blankets off. To be honest, part of him just wanted to ask her to get back in bed and go to sleep to relieve the pounding in his head but he thought better of it. He rubbed his temples in irritation. "Can you stop yelling?"

"I'M NOT YELLING!" She shrieked, her voice rebounding off the walls. She met his stare sheepishly before lowering her voice. "What are you going to do about this? You got us into this, you know."

"How is it my fault?" He questioned crossly, growing frustrated.

She began to fiddle with her night shirt, avoiding his gaze. "It's because you wouldn't let me go."

Part of him felt the tiniest bit of embarressment, remembering how nice it had been just to lay with her before he had fully awoken. However, he never let it show. "You never thought to wake me up?" He said flatly.

A blush darkened her cheeks. "Well, you weren't making it that easy."

"I'm not a deep sleeper." He retorted. "I would have woken up if you had really tried, stupid girl."

Mikan, for once, ignored the jab. She kept her silence.

Natsume snorted, taking her silence as an admission of guilt. "Besides, it's not that bad. It was just sleeping together. It's not like we were doing anything intimate in _that_ way. So you don't need to worry so damn much. You can keep this a secret." Mikan missed the bitterness in his tone, to swept up with her own thoughts.

As she remained silent, her eyes shooting around guiltily, Natsume felt suspicion enter him.

"It was just sleeping, right?"

Mikan twiddled her thumbs. "...Yes."

His eyes narrowed. He didn't believe her for a second. "What did you do?"

She gave him her best innocent look. "Nothing, just sleeping." She gave a nervous laugh, waving her hand and looking at her wrist for an imaginary watch. "Oh, my, look at the time! I should be going back to my room now. See you later Natsume!"

Before he could even get a word out, she was gone. He watched the door for a few moments before looking down at his sheets in frustration.

"Women." He snapped to himself, throwing his legs over the side of the bed and beginning his morning routine.

* * *

_This is going to be my first fic with more then one chapter in quite a while! Perhaps I'll be able to start working up to more multi-chapter fics here soon. I partially debated making this just a really long oneshot but I reached this point and decided that a two-three chapter fic would be more appropriate. I hope to have the next chapter up in 2 weeks or so. Let me know what you thought of this here, constructive critiscm is always appreciated._


	2. Couldn't Be Better

**Authors Note: **I apologise for both the delay and the shortness of this chapter. I had some unforseen circumstances pop up recently that lead to me not having much time for the computer, but I figured a slightly shorter update was better then no update at all. So enjoy this next chapter because I know Mikan sure didn't!

* * *

Ruka walked slowly down the hallways, not quite fully awake yet despite being dressed, groomed and otherwise fully prepared for the day. It was a beautiful morning as he strolled down the hall, the early sunlight streaming in through the windows that lined the path and bathing him in a pleasant warmth, causing his gentle blue eyes to glaze over in idle thought. He idly stroked his rabbits soft fur, enjoying the feel of the particularly soft fur between his ears. The rabbit laid still, content with the attention it was receiving and snuggling into the warmth of his master. As its red eyes closed, Ruka smiled gently, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the morning and the rare silence that only came with a bright and early wake up call in the Academy.

"HOTARU! Get out here now!"

Well, so much for that.

Travelling in the direction of the voice and comforting the rabbit that was now growing tenser by the second, Ruka sighed. He understood that Sakura was excited to see her friend return and he loved her boundless enthusiasm but right now, he wished that she could celebrate in a less boisterous manner.

Imagine the poor boys surprise when instead of a blissfully grinning and sobbing Mikan, he was met with an infuriated one that was pounding Hotaru Imai's door with surprising strength and energy, still clad in her nightwear, her hair loose and uncombed. Trying to ignore the slight heat that came to his face almost instantly at the sight of her, Ruka approached with caution, treading carefully into the situation to prevent any sort of animosity from both Mikan and Imai.

"Sakura?"

Mikan turned quickly, nearly falling over in the process, a cunning smile coming to her face at the sound of his voice.

"Ruka-pyon! I'm so glad you came!"

Before he could reply, Mikan snagged his arm and pulled him toward Hotaru's door, pointing at it as if it had done something to deeply offend her.

"Can you get Piyo to knock this stupid thing down!" She didn't bother making it even sound like a request, Ruka noted dryly. He quickly covered his rabbits ears in an attempt to lessen the damage her unnaturally high pitch could bring, although he would never say that out loud. After all, Sakura was obviously stressed enough already and upsetting her further would only increase the volume.

The door cracked open, revealing a single dark blue eye which glared at him icily, making Ruka gulp involantarily as he surpressed a shiver. "Do that, Nogi, and I'll tell everyone what I found under your mattress." Her gaze flickered over to Mikan who seemed too shocked at the fact that the door had actually opened to really respond. "I'll have to explain exactly what it is to this idiot, which would be especially awkward. Perhaps I would pass that responsibility to you?".

Ruka shook his head quickly, the heat building even more then it already had. Surely every normal boy in the age of puberty had one (He knew for a fact that Natsume had one, although he kept it hidden somewhere that even he couldn't stumble across it) but still, at Mikan's wide eyed glance of innocence, he just couldn't bear the thought of her, of all people, knowing about _that_. Let alone having to explain what it _was_.

He could have sworn he heard a chuckle as the door snapped shut once more. He sighed, shaking his head pathetically, feeling abused and blackmailed. A feeling he had long gotten used to since meeting Imai.

"Sorry Sakura, I can't help you."

Mikan nodded in sympathy, tapping his shoulder lightly as if she knew exactly what he was going through. "That's alright Ruka-pyon, we all have secrets. Hotaru knows everything abo-" She froze in midsentence, her eyes widening even more in realisation.

She whipped around again, pounding furiously on the door. "HOTARU! Dammit, open the door now! That's not fair, I wasn't ready yet!"

"It's not my fault that idiots are easily distracted." Came a muffled reply, which increased Mikan's incessant pounding on the door.

Ruka tipped his head slightly, noting the slightly flushed appearance of the girl for the first time that morning. She had obviously been here for some time and seemed to slowly be tiring herself out from all her antics. He had always assumed she had an unending plethora of energy so seeing her a little worn down was quite the rare sight. "What is it you want from her anyways, Sakura?"

If he thought she had looked slightly red before, it was nothing compared to how she looked now. Her cheeks flushed a deeper color and he could have sworn that a small amount of steam escaped from her ears. She turned to him slowly, remaining silent as she tried to think up something clever to say and evidently, failing.

"Ahh... She took my... Blanket."

"You're... Blanket?"

She nodded, pointing at the door accusingly and giggling airily, a slightly insane tint dancing in it. "Yes, and I want it back. But I guess I should go... Now... Class is starting soon... Yeah."

Her sentence cut off awkwardly as she turned on her heel and headed back to her room without another word. Ruka looked down at the rabbit in his arms in confusion, not quite sure what to make of the encounter but mentally shrugging it off. Between living in this Academy and having daily contact with Mikan Sakura, you do get used to these odd little events to the point where they just aren't odd anymore. A little sad, really.

He sighed heavily and decided to continue walking. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Something was most definitely up.

And it was pissing him off.

This whole little shy school girl routine was not flattering in the least, yet Mikan seemed to be playing the role wholeheartedly. She was sitting on the very edge of the bench, her eyes flickering between him and the invention freak as if one of them might suddenly take an interest in cannibalism and attack her. Her hands were clenched very tightly in her lap to the point that her knuckles were turning white and she looking like she was going to be sick. He supposed his insistent silent staring may have played a part in it, but he really didn't give a damn. She had some explaining to do.

"Oi, Polka."

She jolted violently in her seat, almost tumbling off the side to the floor but managed to miraculously keep her balance. She glanced over at him timidly, letting out a wheezy chuckle in a failed attempt to lighten the mood a little.

"What is it N-Natsume?"

His eyebrow raised at her stammer. Since when did Polka stammer?

That aside, he decided she was also sitting too far away. He would have to fix that.

He reached forward suddenly, grabbing her arm and pulling her over so swiftly that she didn't even have time to react other then releasing a startled squeak. He held her firmly as she tried desperately to scoot away, a curious pink tint coming to her complection. He blinked a little at the realisation that she was blushing over something so simple. Sure, she had blushed over things before, but never over something so simply _girly_. Huh...

"You better start talking, little girl." He threatened curtly, ignoring the nervous looks he was getting from a few of the other students at his aggressive tone. "I don't appreciate being stared at like I have the plague, surprisingly enough. What the hell is wrong with you today?"

"What, me?" Mikan asked, sounding surprised and pointing index finger towards her face. "No, there's nothing wrong with me Natsume! Absolutely nothing wrong!" She looked up desperately at the school board as if begging for some sort of saving grace to appear before her. "Oh, look! We're doing fractions today!" She paused for a moment, her expression tightening. "...Wait, we're doing fractions? Dang it, I'm terrible with fractions..."

He realised he was losing her to her sulking so he sighed in an attempt to reel her back to reality. "Oi, Polka, focus. I want to know why you've been treating me like a goddamn leper today."

She tilted her head, testing the new word. "Leper?"

He glared at her. "I am not letting that stupid routine get you out of this one. Now answer me."

Anger flitted through her eyes. "Hey, what do you mean, stupid routine? Natsume, I'm not an idiot just because I-"

"You're an idiot, I thought we fully established that last night." He pushed, trying to get her back on track. It was a full time job, after all. She had an annoying tendency of getting distracted. "When you came to my room. And slept in my bed. Remember?"

From the color that came to her face once again, it was as good as any verbal answer she could have given, a blaring _yes, I remember, but I try ever so desperately not to_. Good, at least he got some sort of acknowledgement. Her dancing around the subject would only succeed in pissing him off more then he already was.

"Don't say that so loud!" She hissed, no longer fighting his grip and sitting herself closer so she would not have to speak up to be heard. "What if someone hears you?"

He snorted dismissively. "Polka, I have to say that I doubt anyone really gives a damn."

Mikan shook her head strongly, glancing over and Hotaru nervously. "Oh, trust me, people would care... About that... Permy would murder me in my sleep!"

"You know," He began slowly, his eyes narrowing at the expression on her face, "If I didn't know better, I would say you were hiding something. But even you can't be stupid enough to think that you can hide something from me for long so if you are, I suggest you tell me now before I hear about it from an alternative source."

She gulped, evading his gaze. "I don't know what you're talking about, Natsume."

He searched her face and knew beyond a doubt that she was blatantly lying to him. She never had had a good poker face and she seemed completely unable to hide her shortness of breath or eyes that just couldn't seem to meet his. Despite this, he released her arm, although the stewing anger never left his face, his displeasure making the girl squirm in her seat.

He had to admit, he was sulking a little on the inside. Why would she try to hide something from him? He thought that last night had been some sort of indication of trust in him, that perhaps he was someone she could turn to when she had a problem, but he supposed he had guessed wrong. She seemed more distant then ever. He pushed these troublesome thoughts away stubbornly. Since when had he cared about such girly things? That was more Ruka's field anyways...

The boy turned scornfully to the schoolboard, trying to convince himself that Mikan's cold shoulder was having no effect whatsoever. By the way the temperature was raising gradually in the room, his classmates had to assume that he was failing miserably.

* * *

The bell rang and Mikan shot out of her seat, racing towards Hotaru in a desperate attempt to slow what she knew was going to happen during the lunchbreak, perhaps even bring it to a complete halt if possible. She had seen many of Hotaru's impromptu photo auctions, something the girl had a talent for whipping up out of seemingly nowhere, but she wasn't used to the constant churning in her stomach that indicated her nervousness on the whole matter. Part of her wanted to believe that her friend wouldn't sell out their bond over a few measly rabbits... But the more rational part of her brain corrected her harshly and reminded her that Hotaru would probably sell her own grandmother for a few extra coins.

She quickened her pace.

"HOTARU!" She called. The blue eyed girl gave her an irritated glance before bolting from the room faster then Mikan's eye could track. She remembered Hotaru telling her about a pair of speed advancing running shoes that she had been working on.

She supposed that she must have completed them and in doing so, swiftly kicked any chance the poor brunette had of catching her mercilessly to the curb.

She knew her last chance of stopping the money craving fiend had just blown out of the room.

So, logic stated that all she needed to do was win the auction, right?

"Why didn't I think of this before!" Mikan laughed, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her change purse, opening it with flourish and looking dramatically into its depths. But fate seemed to be having great fun with her today, and nearly empty wallet laughed mockingly in her face as it revealed a measly 20 rabbits and a few rolls of lint.

Howalon was a cruel, addictive thing that she had always known would be the end of her. It was just so darned delicious! Howalon was her one true love in this life. The very thing that had royally screwed any chance of her getting that picture in a fair, uneventful method.

She sunk to the floor, tears flooding her eyes and running down her cheeks pathetically, her sniffles gaining no sympathy from her classmates. They avoided her gaze when they caught sight of her empty funds and she was no fool as to why. She owed a few of them money, it was no secret that her Howalon obsession ran high. After all, playing match girl would only get her donations and sympathy for so long.

Just as she began to wonder what some of her personal belongings would fetch if she tried to sell them off in a hurry, a sharp voice interrupted her train of thought.

"...What do you think you're doing?"

Mikan turned to look over her shoulder and was met with the sneer of Sumire, Koko standing a few inches behind her and peeking over her shoulder. From the shocked look that flashed across his face for a split second, followed by the cunning grin that could only suit the cat that had caught the canary, he knew exactly all that had happened. Damn it. As if this day couldn't get any better.

The universe was surely against her. She could only imagine the crimes she must have committed in a past life to gain this sort of bad karma, but it was paying her back full force now. Enjoying it too, by the looks of it.

"N-Nothing Permy." Mikan gulped, sending Koko a pleading look, thinking at a mile a minute, something she didn't even know she was capable of. _Please, please keep this a secret... Not even Natsume knows, please don't do this Koko! Please don't say anything and just forget what you found..._

No such luck. He just continued to smile mockingly, his eyes flickering momentarily back to the fire Alice who was still staring holes into the girl grovelling at his feet. This could get very interesting, he concluded cheerfully. Usually Mikan's mistakes were made public before he could even get into her mind, so it was rare to have any actual dirt on the brunette. It was a gift that he would not squander needlessly.

"She just didn't get a lot of sleep, I think." Koko stated brightly, "Her mind is a jumble."

Sumire snorted. "Moreso then usual?"

She didn't wait for a reply as she stalked past the blubbering girl, Koko following faithfully at her heels, although not before he could give her one last innocent wave as he walked by.

Mikan added another item to her mental agenda. Find Hotaru. Steal the picture before anyone could see and destroy it in the most violent means possible. Beat Koko until he suffered from amnesia and forgot the entire fiasco and if she was lucky, rid him of that horribly inconvenient Alice of his. However, she doubted that she would be that lucky. She hadn't even gotten one goal completely yet.

She jolted back to reality at the sight of Natsume and Ruka walking past her, Ruka glancing back over his shoulder at her in concern while the other boy didn't even spare her a second glance.

She could not let them beat her there.

With a ferocious burst of speed and energy, she stood. Preparing herself, she sprinted past them, brushing Natsume's shoulder as she passed and leaving the two boys in her dust. Ruka watched her shrinking back in confusion, glancing to his best friend for some kind of reasoning on her odder then usual behaviour.

"What was that about?" Ruka questioned. Natsume shook his head, his crimson eyes following her as she span around the corner and nearly toppled over a group of small children in the process.

"Don't know." He replied coolly, sticking his hands moodily in his pockets. But he would find out.

* * *

Mikan entered the cafeteria to see a group of students gathered around an impromptu stage, Hotaru already standing before a microphone and waving an envelope tantalisingly in the air, a small smirk on her face. Her eyes met Mikan's as she came forward and Mikan knew there would be no way to get this little prize away from the greedy inventor without the cash.

"I won't be showing this item to anyone other then the highest bidder." She began calmly, waving the item in question before the audience and giving a short dramatic pause before continuing. "Nor will I be disclosing the nature of this particular item before the bidding is complete. The winner of the auction will be at liberty to share it with whomever they wish, of course. However, I will let you know that the contents of this envelope contain something that a fair number of Natsume Hyuuga's fans will find quite interesting."

"It's a picture of Natsume?" Questioned a girl suddenly, a pitch of excitement entering her voice, "Really?"

At Hotaru's small nod, screams of excitement filled the air as a crowd of bubbly girls now stood before the stage, their eyes lit up with enthusiasm and reaching into their pockets to attempt to win their mysterious prize. Coming from the great Hotaru Imai, a reliable source, their minds began to race at the endless possibilities that little piece of paper could present to them. At the amount of coins that were now appearing, Mikan could help but feel as if all hope was plummeting into a deep, dark pit before reaching the bottom with an earth shattering explosion. She could never win this... But she sure could try!

"Ten rabbits!" Mikan shouted, lifting her coins in the air to show she had the money upfront and hopefully start the bidding high enough to discourage any other possible takers.

"Twenty five rabbits!" Came a voice from behind her.

Mikan fell to the floor dramatically, a resounding thud echoing through the room at her impact. How could she be out of the bidding already?

As the numbers began to climb, Mikan glanced around the cafeteria in a panic, hoping that somehow, someway, someone would have an answer for her. Perhaps a guardian angel would drop down with a convenient solution to her problem and she could continue living her Academy life in peace without the constant torment of her temporary insanity being held over her.

When her eyes met the brilliant crimson, she knew that this was no guardian angel, but it was the only hope she had. She fought with herself for a moment, realising and coming to terms with exactly what she was getting herself into, asking him for two favors in a row, before running over.

She saw his eyes widen slightly in surprise as she knelt before him, gazing up at him pleadingly. He knew it had to be serious if she was humbling herself to him of all people, but desperate times called for desperate measures. This was definitely one of those times. Her very life could lay on the line.

"Natsume..." She paused, thinking over how best to approach this before coming to the conclusion that directly was probably the best way to go. "Let me borrow some money!"

As continuous shouts reigned in the background, her eyes became teary as she watched the auction continue. "As a Special Star, you get more money then any of the other students here! You could win the auction and not even make a dent in your bank account!"

Natsume raised an eyebrow. "What the hell is wrong with you Polka-dots?"

At a bid of one hundred rabbits, she grasped his hand in her own, not caring what burns may come from such an act. What Permy would have in store for her was far worse then anything Natsume could possibly dish out... She hoped.

"Please, Natsume, I'll do anything!" She pleaded desperately. "I'll even be your slave for a day! Or a week! You just have to win that auction!"

His eyes narrowed, taking in her expression for a moment before curiosity got the best of him. Pulling his hand away from hers (_Flicking it in disgust to rid himself of imaginary germs for good measure, just to be safe. Couldn't have anyone thinking he was going soft_), he heaved a deep sigh before raising his hand in the air.

"Two hundred rabbits." He said calmly, hardly raising his voice and yet succeeding in every person in the hall hearing his bid. The students froze, glancing over at the black cat, some curious, others fearfully. No one else dared place a bid against him.

A sly smile came to Hotaru's face.

_Like putty in her hands. This was some extremely easy money._

"Sold."


	3. The Chase

"No."

With that simple word, Mikan's entire plan fell into shambles, the pieces far too tiny to try and piece together once more. How could all her cunning planning and meticulous attention to detail have overlooked this one, simple possibility? She had been so thorough, thought the situation over many time, considering every single possibility before coming to a fool proof solution. How could it have all gone so very, very wrong?

Well, perhaps she hadn't really had a plan, but this outcome had not occurred to her when she had begged for Natsume's help.

"W-What?" She stuttered, her eyes widening in horror. "We had a deal Natsume! I offered to be a slave for a bit and you would give me the item you won in the auction!"

He raised an eyebrow at her desperation, his curiosity peaking as he turned the envelope over in his hand. Imai's thin slanting writing spelling out _Top Secret_, a silent dare to whoever won the item. She had no idea that she was assuring now that he was going to see what was inside, no matter what it took. "I remember saying no such thing, Polka-Dots. I remember placing a bid with my money, making this my item."

"Bu-..." She paused, her eyes hovering over the envelope placed in his hand. He didn't even have the decency to hide it from her to prevent her from stealing it, the cocky jerk. "Natsume! You have to give it to me!"

"The way I see it, I don't have to do anything. My bid, my money, my... Whatever this is." He turned dismissively, flipping the envelope over in his hand to open it, "Consider yourself lucky, little girl, to not have to be a sla-"

He blinked.

Once.

Twice.

There was no fricken' way she just did that.

Yet, here he was, empty handed and watching her sprint full out away from him, her triumphant shout still ringing through the hallway, holding aloft the envelope that had, not moments ago, been in his grip.

His mind slowly began to catch up with what just happened, not believing her cheek.

There was _no fricken' way_ she just did _that_.

His hand clenched furiously, his eyes narrowing to slits as anger began to boil through his system. Fine, she wanted to play that way?

Well, he could play dirty too.

* * *

Mikan gave another whoop of triumph as she hauled across the field behind the school and headed into the woods where Mr Bear lived, kissing the envelope in her jubilation. She took another quick glance over her shoulder, again seeing no signs of pursuit. She was home free!

She couldn't believe that worked! That would teach Natsume to underestimate her!

She wheeled around a tree and jerked to an unsteady stop to catch her breath, leaning back against the trunk and attempting to breathe through her uneasy giggles. The summer air was heavy and sweet in her lungs, making her recovery a little longer then it normally would be. Mikan was by no means out of shape, but even she felt the effects of the uncharacteristically warm weather. Surely it hadn't been this warm earlier, but she supposed it was afternoon and the heat of the day, a poor time to be running around like a lunatic.

But it had been worth it.

With this, her life was saved... As long as Natsume's wrath wasn't too severe. But either way, now that she had this, no one would have to know a thing as long as Hotaru and Koko kept their mouths shut.

As her thudding heartbeat became more regular, she felt curiosity began to take the exhilarations place. She turned the envelope over, wondering if she should open it or not. Despite her earlier panic, there was no need to do anything too rash at the moment, there was no one else in sight to happen upon it. Perhaps she could hide it somewhere, it would be such a waste to destroy it...

"Stupid Natsume..." She muttered quietly, her fingertips running over the contours of the paper, itching to rip it open and look at what she knew was inside. She could barely believe it had happened at the time, everything had gone so fast that she didn't even have time to en-

No, she had not been about to say she had enjoyed it. Not at all, no way. That would make her a pervert.

No, she had most definitely, in no way, enjoyed that kiss! Or any of the others, she convinced herself for good measure.

"I'm not like that pervert Natsume!" She chuckled reassuringly, closing her eyes as she leaned against the harsh bark behind her. "No way..."

She jumped slightly when something brushed the side of her face, fluttering down and landing on the envelope. She smiled in relief when she realised it was just a leaf, shook loose hopefully by the beginnings of a cool breeze. Laughing at her own skittish behaviour, she turned her gaze up to the branches.

"You better start running now, Polka."

Mikan felt her recently calmed heart pick up the pace again when she finally saw him, lounging in the upper branches like a cat, his crimson eyes pinned on her, murderous intent shining within them.

"N-Natsume, fancy seeing you here!" Mikan laughed, attempted to hide the envelope behind her back. "How long have you been sitting there?"

His scowl deepened. "Long enough."

"Ah... Ha ha ha..." She chortled awkwardly, "Well, good talk Natsume. I was just... Leaving."

Before she could turn to run, he slid off the branch and allowing gravity to take him down to the unforgiving ground. She made an odd yelp of shock as he fell, leaping forward almost as if to catch him before he landed smoothly on the forest floor before her, completely unharmed. Her concern cost her her escape as he grabbed her wrist and forced her to back-pedal until she was, once again, backed against the tree bark.

Mikan gulped heavily as he contemplated what to do, cursing her stupidity. She had seen him jump from heights far higher then that and yet she still stayed to make sure he had landed safely._ Stupid, stupid, stupid..._

Finally making up his mind, he reached around her and plucked the envelope from her grasp, ignoring her squawk of indignation.

"Hey! Natsume Hyuuga, you give that back right now!" Mikan demanded, leaping forward suddenly but tumbling to the ground when he easily sidestepped her. He fixed her with a sardonic gaze, shaking his head in disappointment. His silent scorn was almost as bad as his reaction would probably be when he looked inside that paper and her pride simmered furiously.

Pouncing forward from the ground, this time catching Natsume off guard once more, she grabbed his arm as they both crashed unceremoniously to the forest floor. She wrestled the sheet from him, accidentally ripping the envelope open in the process and allowing it's three contents to spill to the ground.

Letting Natsume go, she pushed off from him and grabbed the photos greedily, rejoicing a moment too long before Natsume grabbed her by the ankle, pulling her back slightly in order to get a better grip. Mikan yelped as his hand closed over his own and forced it open, making her release her catch and watch them fall to the ground.

"No!" She shrieked as he reached for them, grabbing his arm again and attempting to force it from it's destination. Natsume released a small grunt of effort but stayed firm, grasping the photos and wrenching himself free of her octopus-like grip.

"No, Natsume, don't-!"

She felt everything inside crash down when his gaze fell upon the evidence of her crime. The color drained from her face and, much to her own disappointment and anger, felt tears begin to come to her eyes. This would be humiliating. She could just imagine the disgust when he would next look at her, a sneer along with a snipe of "Disgusting", or something along those lines. Natsume was unforgiving when it came to inappropriate conduct and somehow, she didn't think this offence would be one he would forget so easily.

She sat up, trying to fix her dishevelled appearance while attempting to hold back the flood of tears that threatened to release at any second. Any second...

"What the Hell is this supposed to be?"

She sniffed, collecting herself for a moment before glancing up, only to have the photos shoved in her face, too close to truly be able to focus on.

She took them from his outstretched hand and immediately felt relief flood her.

Photos of Natsume asleep, seemingly alone in all three.

She was safe. Hotaru wasn't completely heartless after all.

A watery chuckle escaped her and she sniffed again, attempting to force her tears back before Natsume noticed. The bubble of laughter grew and she was soon doubled over, the knot of anxiety and fear she had been feeling since that morning finally bursting and allowing her to rejoice in her freedom. Safe. He wouldn't know. He would never find out. Thank God...

"Polka, you better tell me what's going on right now."

She breathed deeply in an effort to quell the relief that was swelling in her chest. "Nothing Natsume." She giggled, clutching her stomach.

Before she could blink, Mikan found herself laid back against the grass, one of Natsume's hands resting on her shoulder and the other caging her in on the other side. She looked up at him, confused momentarily before bursting into giggles once more.

"Get off me Natsume." She chuckled, trying to wipe a tear from her eye but finding it impossible to get her hand up in their current position. She opted to leave it at her side and began to squirm, growing increasingly aware of his presence looming over her. Her voice began to steadily grow more serious. "I mean it, get off me Natsume!"

"Not until you tell me what you thought was in that envelope." He breathed quietly, his eyes bored yet steady, as if telling her he could be in this position all day. She hoped he would get some really nasty arm cramps from it, the jerk...

"I didn't know what was in the envelope, Natsume." She said nonchalantly, shrugging in a hopeful show of realistic innocence.

His eyebrow slowly raised. But he remained silent.

She had had just about enough of this silly game so she began to struggle a little more. When it became obvious that he had no intention of moving, she fixed him with her nastiest glare in hopes of intimidating him into submission. "Let me up. Now."

Damn him! She swore the corner of his mouth was lifting into a sardonic smirk. Here she was, pinned to the ground and getting genuinely angry and he had the nerve to _smirk_ about it?

"Natsume, get off!" She snarled, getting her arms to her sides enough to gain leverage on his chest and push off.

He didn't even move.

"Get off me!"

Nothing.

"Now, Natsume!"

Dare she say, he seemed almost disappointed by her efforts.

Damn it!

_Damn it!_

Why did she always get herself into such _stupid_ situations?

Why was she such a bloody _idiot_?

_Everyone_ saw it. She hadn't even been in class for five minutes before people at Gakuen Academy before the other student recognised her symptoms of idiocy. Hotaru and Natsume were always pointing it out. _Everybody_ was always telling her. She always managed to get herself into these sorts of situations because she never _thought_.

She acted on impulse, blurted out everything she felt, didn't think about how her actions would reflect on her and all those things had led to this humiliating situation. Why couldn't she just think for once?

Why was she so stupid?

Much to her own dismay, she was in tears again.

"Get off me, Natsume."

Still, he was a rock. She almost screamed out in frustration when his voice interrupted her thoughts.

"What did you think it was, Mikan?"

She sniffled meekly, avoiding his eyes and looking to a tree she could see through a crack in his defences.

"What did you do?"

"Who said I did anything?" She snapped weakly, but it sounded defeated even to her own ears.

"It's obvious." There. She hated that tone. That stupid, arrogant, flat tone that made it sound like he knew everything she could ever say before she said it, although she grimly reminded herself that he _didn't_ know and that was what the problem was.

"I didn't do anything, Natsume. You need to let me up now."

He didn't move or even give an acknowledgment that he had heard her at all, perfectly content to wait for her to answer the question. She knew she wasn't getting out of this so she may as well just get it over with...

"You're not going to like it." She mumbled quietly and if she had had the ability to, she would have begun to twiddle her fingers from the nerves. "I'll tell you if you promise not to overreact."

"I make no promises." Was his swift response.

Ahh, Natsume. Ever the thoughtful boy.

"It's probably not what your expecting."

"I never know what to expect from you." He stated bluntly. "Somehow, you always seem to do the opposite of the regular course of action."

"Yeah..." She trailed off, watching the blades of grass by her face with sudden extreme interest. "I guess you could say I did something really random..."

"You may as well spit it out." He told her, obviously getting tired of the game. "You probably have me thinking things worse then what you actually did. So just say it, Polka."

"I..." Dang it, why could she feel her face warming up already? She hadn't even said it yet! "I..." Her heart began to race, swallowing heavily as she tried to calm her nerves. It was now or never... Just spit it out, Mikan...

"I ASSAULTED YOU!"

That was _not_ how she meant to put it.

If she didn't know better, she could have sworn there was a trace of humour in his voice. "You... Assaulted me?"

"Ahhh, ha ha." She muttered awkwardly. "Maybe 'assault' is a bit of a strong word." Her forehead scrunched in thought as she considered her words. "Actually, if you had done it to me I probably would have said you assaulted me and called you a pervert... I mean, I did call you a pervert in the past, but that time you really _were_ a pervert, you didn't mean it." Her eyes widened slightly in realisation. "That's not to say that I did mean it! No, no... But if I didn't, that means I really _am_ a pervert!"

She hadn't even noticed that Natsume was no longer looming over her like a cat ready to pounce, so caught up in her web of perversity that she didn't seem to realise that she was even saying it out loud anymore. Natsume merely sat beside her, watching her with a slightly bemused expression.

"Although Natsume _did_ steal my underwear when I first met him, not to mention kissing me at the Christmas party and calling me polka dots and constantly making comments about my chest size. No, it wasn't anything that bad. So one little kiss doesn't make me a super pervert like him, at least!"

"One little kiss?" That certainly caught Natsume's attention. He had been considering the different things she may have accidentally seen or done that may have been considered 'perverted' by this girls very broad definition, but doing something actually considered intimate had never entered the boys mind. But now, his interest was most definitely piqued. Judging from her extremely stiff expression, she had suddenly remembered he was still there with her and was regretting what she had said through the flow of babble. "What do you mean by that, Polka?"

Mikan scrambled to her feet, her face a brighter red then he had ever before seen it. As much as he hated to admit it, he felt a trill of excitement course through him at the vulnerable and embarrassed look in her eyes.

Interesting.

"Who ever said anything about a kiss?" She asked with mock innocence, trying to slowly back away from him.

Now that he thought about it, Mikan did have a similar expression on her face when he woke up that morning, but he had thought it was due to his strong grip on her, as well as getting caught in a compromising position by her 'best' friend, that had caused it. But really, could it perhaps have been something a little... More?

He dared not let his hopes get too high. Polka never really gave any sort of clue that she was interested in that way. Sure, she had shown interest in his health and welfare, but she did that for every poor schmuck that came her way. He had never thought that she felt the same as...

No, these thoughts were going into extremely dangerous waters.

Instead, he placed on the smallest of lazy grins on his face. It was barely there, yet enough to make Mikan's heart skip a beat. Since when did he make expressions like that?

"Did innocent little Mikan do something naughty to me while I slept?" He teased, his tone light. Since when did Natsume tease her like this? It was  
making her heart race in a whole different way. "My, whatever will I do? Now I'll never be able to get married."

"What are you talking about squinty eyes?" She snapped suddenly, her own eyes narrowed into slits. "You kiss me without my permission all the time."

"Apparently you liked it though." He pointed out blankly. "You still haven't denied you did it."

Something in her reminded her exactly what she could be getting herself into, but another part of her wanted to prove him wrong. Although he had unknowingly brought up the truth, he still didn't believe she had it in her. That cocky, arrogant little ba-

"And what if I did?" She snarled triumphantly, a spark lighting in her eyes. "Huh, Natsume? You're always sneaking up on me, I bet you never thought I could pull a fast one on you! Well, I did and you didn't even know it!" She crossed her arms. "So there."

He chuckled slightly, so quietly that she could have missed it. "And that's really all you did? That's what all this was about?"

She pouted, annoyed at his nonchalance on the matter, seemingly forgetting that it was better then the reaction she had been fearing all morning. "Yes, Natsume, that's all it was, so we can just forget about it now. This big mistake can be put behind us now."

If she had known him any less, she would have missed the way the teasing light left his eyes, the way that small smirk dropped from his lips. But she did notice and suddenly, warning bells began to chime in her mind. Something she had said had definitely upset him. Confusion entered the girl. Isn't just forgetting it all the best course of action?

"Yeah, I guess we can just forget your stupid little _mistake_." He snapped suddenly, standing quickly to leave. Why did he seem determined not to look at her anymore? "Don't worry, Polka, it's safe with me. I don't want people to know I've been letting some underdeveloped little girl attack me while I sleep."

There it was, that tone of disgust that she had expected before. Somehow, the pieces fell slightly into place and the smallest of smirks came to her face.

"Natsume, did I hurt your pride?"

From the slightest flinch of his shoulders, she had hit the nail on the head. So that's all it was. It wounded the fire alice's poor little ego. She laughed harshly.

"Well, I'm sorry that I'm not bragging about kissing the great Natsume Hyuuga like most of your little fans would be." She told him coldly, "What did you expect? That once it was out, I wouldn't be able to resist being there at your beckoned call? Because, Nats-"

She released a small 'eep' when Natsume turned heel suddenly, stopping a mere inch from her face, so close she could barely breathe.

"You stupid girl."

Mikan slowly regained her voice. "W-What did you say? I'm not stupid, Natsume!"

"Yes, you are." He told her bluntly. "You are a stupid, immature, inconsiderate and completely oblivious idiot who never sees..." He cut himself off and turned away, his hands shaking with emotion. Without another word, he stomped off.

He was not getting off that easy.

"H-Hey, Natsume!"

When he didn't acknowledge her, she raced forward to catch up, bursting in front of him and holding her arms out wide to prevent him from escaping. "What do you mean, I'm oblivious? What am I not noticing, huh?"

"It's obvious, pigtails." He snapped coolly, "You'll have to figure it out on your own." His eyes turned down to the grass, which really worried her. No matter what, Natsume never avoided eye contact. It was something she had always secretly admired about him, the ability to look people in the eye and tell them point blank what he though about them. The fact that he was avoiding her gaze made her feel uneasy. "I'm done here."

When he moved to walk around her, she wheeled on him, grabbing his arm with both hands. "No, Natsume, that's not how this works! You don't just get to pick when we talk and then leave when you feel like it, especially after you just forced me into talking to you not five minutes ago! That's not fair, Natsume, and you know it!"

"Let me go." He snarled, traces of real anger simmering in his eyes. Had she not known him like she did, she may have been frightened. But now, she was more reminded of a toddler throwing a temper tantrum and she held her ground.

"No, Natsume. Not until you talk to me."

"Why should I?" He snapped, still avoiding her gaze. "It was just some dumb mistake, right? It's not like I wanted you to do it, so forgetting about it would be the easiest. So move, Polka, or you'll really piss me off."

"No!" Mikan snarled, stamping her foot in irritation to emphasise the word. "That isn't fair, idiot! You get to do whatever you want all the time, but whenever I do something it's wrong! Well guess what Natsume, I take back that apology. I'm tired of being treated like I'm too stupid to understand that situation. I know exactly what I did and I'm not sorry for it!"

Much to her own dismay, she felt a sob break through her voice and she tried to hold back the ones to follow desperately. She would not let him see how much his words hurt her. She would not allow him to see just how much his opinion mattered to her.

She definitely would not let him see that he managed to get her to cry for real.

"Whatever, just go away." She muttered coldly, turning to march off further into the trees and escape this humiliation.

"Hey, Mikan." She could of swore she heard a trace of regret in his tone, but she refused to believe it. She just continued purposefully away from him, her long strides gradually picking up the pace until she was in a full blown run, not paying attention to where she was going. All she knew was that she was furious and she needed to get away from that idiot.

"Mikan!"

She glanced behind her, shocked by the sight to see him chasing her, a look of determination in his fiery eyes.

No way...

Part of her felt touched by the effort he was showing, something that was so uncharacteristic that she couldn't help but wonder if he was sick or suffering from the temporary insanity that seemed to be going around today, but the other part of her was furious at him for obviously ignoring her wishes and continually being present when she had made it more then obvious she wanted time alone.

Either way, she pumped her legs faster and harder, determined to escape him. Even though the walls of the Academy bordered every edge of the forest, there was more then enough ways to lose him through this maze of trees.

"Leave me alone Natsume! I don't want to talk to you!" She snarled over her shoulder, ignoring his look of irritation.

He seemed to be gaining ground on her fast, the only way she was going lose him would be to move into thicker foliage.

Making a split second decision, Mikan suddenly bolted to the right into a deep thicket, ignoring the sting as branches and thorns pulled at her clothes and pricked her bare skin.

"Idiot, that's whe-"

His words were lost as Mikan's foot sunk into what she had thought was solid ground, rising to her knee. She cried out in surprise, trying to throw her momentum backwards but doing so unsuccessfully. She stumbled, falling forward into the mud that stank of swamp.

She gagged, thankfully keeping her face out of the disgusting mess but knowing that the rest of her wasn't so lucky. As she tried to right herself, her hand sunk further into the muck, sucking her down further into the trap the wetland had laid for her. She grunted in frustration, forcing herself to stand as the mud released her arms with a wet _pop! _She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she flicked her hand, the green goo flicking from her finger and flinging everywhere, speckling across her face, much to her poorly concealed fury.

"Idiot." Came the harsh word and she turned to see _him_, the cause of all this, standing at the swamps edge, his red eyes pinning her with disdain. "I warned you Polka."

"Shut up Natsume." She snapped, attempting to turn around and nearly falling over in the process, her muck covered pigtails swinging from her jerky motions and slapping her across the face, leaving a trail of green slime behind. She suddenly felt like sitting and having a good, long cry, Natsume be damned. Everything today was against her!

"Here."

She glanced up to see Natsume offering her his hand, his feet carefully planted just outside of where the cleverly hidden wetland began. For a moment she almost refused, feeling guilty at the thought of covering his generosity in this disgusting concoction but the moment soon passed and she grabbed him, pulling herself up with flourish and getting to solid ground with as much grace she could muster.

He pinned her with a blank stare as she tried to scrape it off with the side of her hand to no avail, trying a few times before giving up with a ill concealed groan of exhaustion. He fought to keep a devilish grin down. She would kill him if he showed amusement now.

"We've got about an hour's walk back to the Academy from here." He told her bluntly, ignoring her flinch at the thought. "You led us pretty damn far, you know that Polka?"

"Whatever." She muttered, flicking her hand again in a feeble attempt to rid herself of some of the mud. "You didn't have to follow me." She considered her words before throwing in a "Jerk." for good measure.

"There's a stream that leads through the woods, we passed it on the way here. We can stop there on the way back and you can... Clean up a little."

Mikan shot him with a glare that could have competed with one of his own before she turned, stomping off through the trees with a new enthusiasm in her stride, no doubt hoping to clean herself off a little.

Natsume couldn't help an eye roll. "Wrong way, Polka."

The was a pause in the stumbling through the underbrush before she turned, breaking back out through the bushes and pushing past him, a muttered "I knew that." hanging in the air.

Natsume sighed silently. This was going to be a long walk.

* * *

_Plenty of hurt feeling and slight angst this chapter. I'm planning for one more after this and I promise, there will be a fluffier chapter coming! Well, as fluffy as Natsume can get, anyways._


	4. Reconciliation

_Holy smokes, over a year since I last updated! That is crazy and just plain unforgiveable, so hopefully this last chapter makes up for it. _

_That's right folks, Dead of the Night is finally complete. Hopefully you like it!_

* * *

Oh, he was going to pay.

The sweltering heat surrounded them as they walked back towards the Academy, the mud that had so stubbornly clung to Mikan's clothing and hair now hardening into heavy clumps that weighed her down more and more with every step. She removed one of the ribbons holding her pigtails in place and pulled her long hair over her shoulder, slowly combing through it with her fingers and removing the dirt the best she could, grimacing as she encountered a spot that was still slimy. She didn't think she had ever felt so disgusting in her entire life.

_It was all his fault_.

He just _had_ to track her down in the woods. He just _had_ to make her tell him about her crime. He just _had_ to get all moody and hurt her feelings.

_You just had to kiss him._

She pushed down her traitorous thoughts furiously, feeling betrayed by her own mind. She resumed glaring at Natsume's back, trying for something more familiar then sorting out her thoughts.

It was definitely all his fault. No doubt about it.

_He did follow you, though. That has to count for something. Admit it, you were excited when you realized he might actually care how you felt._

She snarled inwardly, her aura darkening dangerously. _Shut up._

"You know, just because I have a fire Alice does not mean I will spontaneously combust if you stare hard enough."

Mikan snorted, not bothering to give him a verbal reply. He didn't even spare her a glance, knowing purely by the unpleasant sensation of his skin crawling that she was still glaring holes in the back of his head. She felt a small spark of satisfaction in knowing that she was getting her bad mood across and continued her silent cursing. Dang right he should feel uncomfortable, the jerk...

He made a sound that sounded suspiciously like a sigh before lapsing back into silence, ignoring her completely once again.

Something glittered in the corner of her vision and Mikan's eyes followed it, a giant grin making its way to her face as she giggled with glee. She pounced forward, grabbing Natsume's hand and pointing excitedly, her anger momentarily forgotten.

"Natsume, look! It's the stream! Finally, I can get clean!"

He fixed her with an unimpressed look. "I can see that. I led us here, remember?"

She huffed, releasing him and skipping forward. "Well, stay here if you want Natsume, but I am definitely cleaning myself off. This mud is disgusting and the heat is only making it worse." She grumbled to herself as she hopped forward, pulling off her shoes and socks quickly in anticipation for the water.

She was surprised to find that the water might even actually go over her head in certain spots despite not being particularly wide across. The crystal clear water ran over the smooth rocks, the glittering from the ripples shining brilliantly in the sunlight. The sound of it was soothing and she closed her eyes for a moment, simply enjoying the fresh, clean smells of the forest. She grinned to herself, despite the situation. It was beautiful here.

Laughing, she raced forward and pounced, moving towards a deeper spot and submerging herself with a loud splash. The water enclosed over her and she gasped, inhaling water as she did so. She momentarily panicked as she tried to cough, still submerged, and merely wound up taking in more water. She struggled for a moment before breaking the surface again, coughing water from her lungs as she shuddered violently, her teeth chattering.

"It's c-cold!" She whined, her skin already turning pale from the shock.

Natsume raised an eyebrow, watching her from a distance she supposed he had deemed safe from water firing range. "What did you expect? It's a stream in the woods, stupid. If you had just walked in and let your body adjust like a normal person, you wouldn't be so cold."

Another violent shiver wracked her form. "W-Well, it's hot out! I th-thought it might be w-w-warm too!"

"We see how that turned out. Now you're walking back to the Academy in wet, cold clothes."

She huffed, turning away from him and rubbing her arms in a feeble attempt to get warm before she felt a clump of mud break loose. Fascinated, she watched it float upwards before bobbing downriver. Working her fingers over her clothes, she watched the water turn a murky, unpleasant shade of brown before floating off, taken away by the current. She wrinkled her nose as just how much she browned the water, but felt pleased whenever it turned crystal clear once more, the current carrying her woes away.

Sighing in contentment as she adjusted to the waters cool temperatures and the feeling of being cleansed of the filth that had dried to her, Mikan leaned her head back and gently massaged her scalp, running her fingers through her hair. When her finger caught on her hair elastic she sighed, gently removing the remaining one of them from her pig tail and flinging it back to shore to rest by her shoes, landing with surprising accuracy.

With her hair now free from its bonds she ran her fingers through it's length, marveling in just how nice it felt. She simply wished she had a bathing suit, it did feel odd to be in the stream fully clothed but considering current company, it was something she would just have to suffer with it.

Speaking of...

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. She blew out her cheeks when she realized that he had no such temptation to join her. She was convinced that this was exactly Natsume's problem. He had completely forgotten how to have fun.

Not that she wanted him to come in and play with her... No, not really...

Okay, she did. But the poor guy had no idea how to just kick back and relax. She couldn't fault him for that though, not after everything he had been through.

Her mood dampened considerably. It wasn't his fault, after all. He had been forced to grow up very fast and do things that she could only begin to imagine. It was no wonder he never allowed himself to let loose, it seemed like there was always some kind of danger after him, whether it be from forces unknown or his very own Alice.

She shook herself, determined to get off the topic. Both of them spent more then enough time thinking over the gloomy subject and even though he had done a lot to make her angry with him today, she stubbornly decided to try and make it even a little more pleasant.

She could remind him that he was just little more then a child and that, every once in a while, it was okay for him to let loose.

It was okay to have fun.

She momentarily had the crazy idea of sitting on a large rock jutting from the stream and enticing him into the water by acting like one of those mermaids from the movies, but immediately dashed the thought as stupid. She considered and juggled thoughts, each more insane then the next, before finally settling on what might have been the most suicidal of all. However, in her mind, it was also the one with the highest chance of success.

Scouting out the best position, she found a spot in the water that was actually pretty deep, paddling into it, she found that she could submerge herself easily. Moving to the edge and clambering on a particularly large, slippery rock, she waved her arms and called to him, effectively getting his attention.

"Natsume, you should come in too!" She laughed, wringing out her hair. As she tugged at it she realized just how long it had gotten, she really would need to trim it soon. Making a mental note, she flung it over her shoulder. "It's warm out and once you get used to it, the water is great!"

His eyes closed, an annoyed grunt escaping him. "Not going to happen, Polka."

She crossed her arms, not giving up. "Come on, Natsume. Today's been a rough day so just come in and relax!"

"Aren't you supposed to be pissed at me?"

She quickly squashed the beginnings of anger before they had the chance to really form. This wasn't about her and her pride, this was about him. He would just need some persuasion.

Steeling herself, she spun on her heel towards the water. "Okay, if you don't want too..."

Trying to make it appear as realistic as possible, she forced her foot to slide across the smooth surface as she spun around towards the water. She grinned at her cunning. "Oh no! I'm slipping!"

She had the chance to see him flick his gaze in her direction before falling dramatically, visions of pulling him in after her when he came to check on her dancing in her head. The look on his face was going to be pricele-

The wet rock was suddenly far more slippery under her then she predicted, her foot sliding into open air faster then she expected. Her body jolted involuntarily, twisting in an attempt to hit the water at a better angle, when a sharp pain jolted through her shoulder, so intense that for a split second she almost wondered if she had been shot.

She released a shriek of genuine pain before submerging once again in the water. This time, as she fought to right herself, the shock that raced through her entire body at the movement nearly made her cry out and she knew she was crying. For an insane moment, she nearly tried to laugh at the absurdity of crying underwater.

Cradling her left arm against her chest, she kicked and wriggled, trying to find the surface again when an arm wrapped around her waist, promptly propelling her forward and into the open air.

Her breaths heaved as she hungrily gulped in oxygen, ashamed to find unstoppable sobs escaping her, their intensity making her shoulder quake and only making the situation worse. Fire raced through her left shoulder, tracing all through her back. She immediately threw her right hand back to try and assess the damage, only to have Natsume's hand on her wrist, holding her still.

"Stop moving." He demanded, holding her tearful gaze with his own concerned one. "You're only hurting yourself. Stop, Mikan."

She hiccuped slightly, forcing herself to breathe. "Wh-What did I do?"

"You really didn't see the rock sticking right up out of the water, did you?" He scolded, "Only you could hurt yourself pretending to hurt yourself."

She froze, temporarily abating her sobs. "I... I wasn't..."

"You were." He deadpanned, gently moving her hand down. "You were going to pull me in the water. Perhaps you shouldn't voice your plans out loud, although even I have to admit, it was a bit amusing, the whole pretending to be a mermaid thing would have been interesting. Never would have worked, but amusing none the less."

She flushed and went to push him away when her injury harshly reminded her of its presence. She gasped from the sheer volume of the pain and tears again sprang to her eyes.

"Hey, stop moving!" Natsume snapped, his voice slightly regretful. He shouldn't be teasing her now, the idiot would only aggravate her shoulder further. When her sobs started again, he was nearly frantic but reigned it in, never allowing it to show. He needed to see what she did. "Mikan, I need you to calm down. You need to take off your shirt... Or at least pull it up, don't give me that look."

She shook her head, despite the pain, although she was already pulling at the hem with fumbling fingers. This pain far outweighed the extremely embarrassing situation. Didn't mean he didn't need to know she wasn't humiliated by it all. "P-Pervert."

Ignoring the word, he moved behind her, preserving at least the important part of her modesty. His eyes narrowed as she exposed her whole back, revealing the large, ugly bruise already splotching her skin, its purple hues spreading across the creamy expanse like a disease. His fingers lightly skimmed her skin, momentarily ignoring the flinch of pain and trying to assess the extent of the injury. It must have hurt like Hell and could have been far more serious then it was.

He exhaled heavily. "What did you do..."

Mikan stiffened. "It's that b-bad?"

He ignored the question. "Water, everywhere. All behind you and you fall on the one, single spot that had a rock sticking out of it."

She whimpered as his finger grazed the most sensitive spot and he jerked his hand away sharply, the tone of his voice going from concerned to furious. "Honestly, of all the ways that could have happened, you fell on the one single rock..."

Definitely furious. At whom, she wasn't sure.

"You even knew it was there, Mikan!"

Oh, furious with her, apparently.

"I know I did something stupid again, Natsume." She whispered, shivering as she pulled her shirt back down. She bit her lip, drawing blood in an attempt to help in a yelp of pain at the motion. "But I think I've already paid the price for this one, hey? Let's just head ba-"

He didn't seem to hear her. "What if you had hit your head, huh? That could have been serious! You could have _died_, Mikan! Right then and there! Doesn't that matter to you?"

Suddenly, she was glad he was behind her. His voice sounded murderous. She did not want to see the expression on his face. She didn't want feel the shame, humiliation, fear...

She didn't want to see his fear.

But she could hear it.

"I'm sorry, Natsume, I jus-"

"No, Mikan, this isn't something that can just be let go!" He snarled, "You could have died and for what? To get me to play in the water? How _stupid_ would that have been!"

"Natsume, just lis-"

"You need to start thinking Mikan! I can't handle this!" His voice cracked and Mikan felt herself go stiff with shock. Was he...? "...I can't... lose..."

She turned to look over her shoulder, ignoring the scream of protest her body gave.

There were no signs of tears, not a shiver of his shoulders or a hitch in his breath, but the utter defeat in his posture spoke volumes.

"I'm sorry." She muttered, slowly turning to face him. He didn't look at her but she saw something related to surprise flickered in his eyes. She was never one to just apologize. The fact that she had done it without any sort of prompting from Narumi, Tsubasa or Hotaru was unheard of.

When he made no move, she scooted closer, not touching him yet but coming as close as she could without doing so. A drop of water hung off his bangs before falling, hitting her knee with plop. "I'm sorry, Natsume, for doing something so foolish. I'm sorry for scaring you."

"I wasn't scared." He replied stoically, automatically.

She sighed, leaning forward and placing her forehead against his. She felt him stiffen in shock, his expression remaining completely emotionless but his eyes, that raised to hers, flared to life with a toiling of emotion. "I'm sorry for not paying attention."

Somehow, he didn't think they were talking about just falling off the rock anymore, but he held his tongue, hardly comprehending the situation.

"I'm sorry I don't listen more, I'll try to. I'm sorry for running off before. I'm sorry for blaming you for what I did." She paused, taking in a shuddering breath, hardly believing she was saying it. "I'm sorry for calling it... You... What I did a mistake. I-It wasn't. Really, it's one of the o-only things I've done... Right."

He watched as her face flushed brilliantly. She was so close he could feel the heat of her blush, see the water droplets that hung so desperately on her eyelashes. Surely he wasn't misreading the situation?

One little move, he had done it before. That would be all it took to...

When he felt a pair of soft lips press against his, he very nearly reeled back in shock. How very unlike him, this level of complete and udder surprise was far more suited for Mikan then himself. He had initiated a number of kisses with her in the past, and yet this was the first she had taken, so hesitant and nervous beneath his touch...

Well, the first while he was conscious, anyways.

He pressed back and felt her relax. He felt confused at this. Did she really think he would turn her away? Deny her?

Despite what she seemed to think, Natsume doubted he was capable of denying this girl anything.

He loved her, after all. More then anything.

She moved closer, her kiss more firm and confident now, the fear from before slowly ebbing away. She was slowly taking the lead.

Could not have that, could he?

He moved, raising his hands to slowly run them through her hair, delighting in them being released from those pigtails she so fancied. Not that he didn't think she was pretty no matter what hairstyle she had, but there was something about her free flowing auburn hair that sent his mind into a frenzy. She was beautiful.

His hands moved slowly, tracing a line down her back, moving to settle on her wai-

She gasped, jolting suddenly and slamming her face painfully into his. His eyes snapped open as he momentarily saw stars from the strength of her blow. She jumped and practically landed in his lap, her whimper of pain the only sound breaking the awkward silence.

"What'd you do that for?" She demanded tearfully, "It hurt!"

He immediately regretted his earlier action, remembering the horrible bruise that stretched across her shoulder. "Sorry, I didn't mean to."

He paused for a second, realizing just how much better this situation was compared to the previous one. Yes, this he could work with.

He nuzzled into her throat, his mouth brushing her racing pulse as she stiffened and attempted to push herself away, only to meet his resistance. She did notice, however, that he was careful to keep his hands from her bruise.

Her face turned that delightful shade of pink from earlier in the day that he so admired and he smirked at the thought. This silly little girl had no idea that monster she unleashed.

The word 'pervert' would be ringing through the Academy halls for weeks now that he knew exactly how she felt.

However, the thought of her shoulder immediately sobered him. He needed to get her back and taken care of. He really had no idea what the extent of the injury was and it needed to be looked at. Regretfully, he freed her from his grasp, a freedom she took all too willingly. She scrambled back, her eyes wide and her breath coming in fast pants, her eyes wide with disbelief at his sudden affections.

"P-Pervert." She muttered, her hands fisting in the grass as she averted her gaze, not wanting to see those burning scarlet eyes. Not wanting to see what she had unleashed with her confession.

Not wanting to see what she had denied herself so long. How could she have possibly missed it? She truly was an idiot.

"I love you."

A rather unladylike sound escaped her mouth at his sudden confession, her eyes impossibly large as she snapped her gaze back to his, the same burning passion there. No lie, he's not lying. No, she supposed Natsume hardly ever lied.

"W-What?"

He sighed, finally looking away from her and closing his eyes as if the words had lifted an enormous weight off his shoulders. "You heard me, I said it. Now you know, do with it what you will."

"Y-You... I... Uh-"

He paused, an uncharacteristic amount of uncertainty worming its way into him. Did she not... Love him too? Maybe he had read her completely wrong... But she kissed him, surely that meant something. Maybe he jumped the gun throwing out the word Love though, maybe she wasn't ready to hear that yet. No, it didn't matter, he still lo-

"I l-love you too, Natsume."

He looked her straight in the eyes, which were misty now with emotion instead of pain. He was a touched ashamed to admit that he felt his heart begin to pound a little faster, although he did hold pride in the fact that his facial coloring never changed. "I have for a while... I just didn't know what you thought..."

He deadpanned. "I made it more then obvious."

She twiddled her fingers. "Well, looking back you may have with the kissing and Alice stones and other stuff... But at the time I had no clue... I'm such an idiot..."

"Yes." He murmured, sighing. He wasn't going to say it, no. He wasn't going to turn all sappy and gross, that was more of a Ruka-like thing to do. But maybe she would like to hear something like that...? "But I suppose you're my idiot, right?"

She exhaled, a large weight off her chest at the words as giggles bubbled from her mouth at his words. He may not be the overly sappy type, the sentence looking like it almost caused him physical pain to say, but she was extremely flattered that he had tried at all. She noticed the tiniest of smiles tilt on his lips, his eyes unusually calm and warm. They wer more then happy to sit in companionable silence after such an earth-shattering event, but she knew just from the contented look on his face that she wasn't the only one overcome by it all. She allowed herself a small smile, moving to sit next to him.

Only to have him stand, running a hand through his still damp hair. He reached down, offering her a hand up on her good arm. "We need to get back, Polka. That needs to be looked at."

She watched him for a moment before allowing a dazzling smile on her face, taking his hand delicately and allowing him to lead her over to where her shoes and supplies were.

They walked back to the Academy in comfortable silence, Mikan's mind moving a mile a minute at the events of the day.

He loved her.

Just thinking the words made her stomach flutter as if full of butterflies, the uncontrollable giddiness adding a bounce to her step. She watched as Natsume turned to look at her from the corner of his eye, his expression stoic but his eyes soft and clear, his amusement dancing in them.

While she did still want to get that photo from Hotaru's clutches, she supposed she could let it go. It would be nice purely for sentimental purposes, but she didn't care who saw it now. It was astounding, how something so mind blowing and traumatic this morning could have turned into such a pleasant memory, all because of a few words. But she didn't need a picture.

She did, afterall, have the real thing now.

She wasn't letting this moment go for anything.


End file.
